Summary
Finley Elementary in Laredo, TX, is a PK-5 campus within the United Independent School District (Isd) serving 471 students from a predominantly low-income community, where over 80% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school has experienced a significant and concerning decline in recent years, dropping from a solid 3-star rating and the 62nd percentile statewide in 2022-2023 to a 1-star rating and the 25th percentile in the most recent data, indicating an urgent need for intervention.
The most striking finding is the dramatic contrast between Finley and its immediate neighbor, Kazen Elementary, located just 0.23 miles away and serving a very similar student population. While Kazen ranks in the 95th percentile, Finley sits at the 25th percentile—a staggering 70-percentile-point gap. This suggests the challenges at Finley are likely related to school-specific factors like leadership, instructional quality, or school culture, rather than student demographics. Finley’s math scores are a critical weakness, with proficiency rates as low as 25.86% in 3rd grade, compared to Kazen’s 68.52% in the same grade and subject. The school has also seen a collapse in support for special education students, dropping from the 57th percentile to the 12th percentile over two years.
Despite these struggles, there are glimmers of hope. Finley’s 5th-grade Science scores have shown a positive trend, outperforming district and state averages in recent years, indicating effective instruction is possible in some areas. Additionally, the school’s per-student spending ($12,531) is higher than many higher-performing peers like Trautmann Elementary ($9,259), suggesting the issue is not a lack of financial resources but how they are allocated. A deep-dive comparison between Finley and Kazen—analyzing leadership, teaching methods, and resource use—would be the most valuable next step for turning Finley around.
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